James and his daughter
by The.darkness.within.you
Summary: So when James is a teenage dad at the request of cherub, how will affect his life, will his friends stand by him, has he made the right choice?
1. Chapter 1

I do not own any of these characters, I just borrow them and play with them and then put them back in their box...i swear!

Chapter one

James walked up to Zara's office, he couldn't think of a reason why he would be in trouble but he still felt nervous. He knocked on the door and entered.

"James, take a seat, no need to look so nervous you are not in any trouble at all!" Zara said taking a seat behind her desk

"What are your thoughts on children James?" She asked

"I like children" he replied dumbly feeling very confused

"So you would have one of your own." Zara enquired

"Of course" James replied "being a dad is all I have ever really wanted to be honest"

"You see James, a government spy has been arrested and wishes to give her baby up for adoption to someone here, I thought you were the best candidate, you are fantastic with Joshua and Tiffany, I think it would be great, but it is up to you of course"

"How old is the child?" James asked curiously

"The mother is six months pregnant with a baby girl whom she wishes to be called Scarlett" Zara said.

"She does not wish for the baby to know who here mother is, and I cannot divulge any details to you about her either."

"I would love to Zara, but I don't have the money to look after a baby" James said looking downcast

"You will get £5,000 pounds from the money we have seized to buy all of the equipment, and whatever is left you may wish to put in a trust fund for her. You will also get £500 a month for supplies, if you wish to get some extra money, then you can always carry out some small jobs on campus"

"Brilliant!" James said grinning, "where would I stay, my room would not be big enough"

" you would get the apartment on the top floor, and you will also get £10,000 to decorate and furnish it, and prehaps your friends would be kind enough to help decorate it?"Zara responded

"I'm in!" James said "wait, what about lessons"

"You have already got your maths and Russian A level, and I know you are 16, but if we made you do one a level subject this year and one next, the work load will be much more manageable and you wil have the same qualifications as everybody else after the two years."

"That's brilliant." James said

"If you know which A levels you wish to do and in which year you wish to do them, I can get the ball rolling?"

"Could I do biology this year as my a level and English language next year" James asked

"I will get that arranged" Zara said writing it down on a piece of paper. "Now then I will show you your new apartment, and then whilst you buy some items online for it I will tell Cherub in an assembly that you are going to be a daddy, however only your closest friends will be told previously that the child is not biologically yours, all the others must be told you are the actual father"

They walked up to the apartment which was bare, there was no furniture. "The money for the apartment is on this credit card" Zara said handing it to him. "If you and Kyle and Lauren meet at my cottage at 5 pm tonight, we can buy a few items from the nearest Ikea." She said handing him the keys and James pulled his laptop out of his bag and made a quick list:

To buy online - sofa, T.V, wardrobe, microwave, kettle, toaster, lamps, fridge,

To buy tonight - Scarlett's stuff, chairs and table, crockery, cutlery, rugs, beanbags

He set about ordering a 40" TV, a three piece leather sofa, a microwave and a DVD rack as well as some paintings he liked on EBay, he bought a selection of children's books to read to Scarlett and then some shelves.

He then saw the empty food cupboards and decided to walk down to the local shops and buy some food.

He bought a variety of tinned fruit, some long life UHT milk, tea bags and coffee, crisps, noodles and pasta sauces, bread and crackers, he bought soups and condiments, soft drinks and juices as well as tinned beans.

He then walked back up to his apartment and packed the food away. Even food shopping made him feel like he was an adult. He heard a knock on his door and saw Ewart in the doorway holding a large box.

"It's a flat pack cot" he explained "we never used it, we also have a few toys we never used, i shall bring them round later but first lets get this cot made up."

An hour later the cot was finally made up, with Ewart grumbling about vague instructions and diagrams.

"Thanks Ewart, it means an awful lot" James said smiling

"No problem mate, I'll be taking you shopping with your friends later, so I'll see up you then okay?"

"Sure thing" James said going down to his room and packing his magazines, books, CDs and CDs player in a box as well as his spare duvet and spare pillows and taking them back up to his room to unpack before repeating the process with his second mirror, spare clothes and various grooming items.

He was back down in his bedroom when Lauren came bursting in with Kyle and Rat

"Here's the dad to be." Lauren said giving him a huge hug. "I'm so happy for you, and I'm going to be an auntie" she grinned.

"I'm chuffed for you mate, however Kerry is not happy, I would consider yourself dumped if her rant in Zara's office is anything to go by!" Kyle said sadly

James sighed "what did she say?" He said sitting on the bed

Rat grimaced. "She said that you were a selfish arrogant stuck up loser who should have asked her before making such a life changing decision, she then went on to ask Zara how she ever thought you could be a good dad when you are so angry and immature, and surely she should have made the decision with you" rat answered.

James looked shocked

"I didn't even think to ask her" he whispered.

"You didn't need to" Kyle said forcefully, "she's being stupid, it's your money, your life, your child"

"Yeah" Lauren agreed "the offer was for you, you and Kerry aren't good for each other, if she had made you say no and thn you split up in a few weeks then you would have regretted saying no, plus she was only your girlfriend, it wasn't as if you were married, and you will make a great dad, everyone knows it, when it comes to children, you are amazing with them, Joshua adores you, and you care about him, you are so patient and understanding with him, I think you've made the right choice!" Lauren said

"Come on then, we've got my apartment to decorate" James said bounding out the room.

They each got a trolley and James picked tea cups and mugs and plates and a load of other stuff, ranging from a cute ornament to put in Scarlett's room to a beanbag and light shades, all in all the shop took hours and James spent over three hundred pounds. In the car on the way back Ewart stopped at a baby department store and James stared in wonder at all the products for babies.

"Let's choose a pram" Lauren urged, so they all trooped over to the pram section. James looked baffled at all the categories and types so Ewart talked him through, and eventually James picked a lovely red and black pram,

"Ooooh let's look at the cute little clothes" Lauren squealed, becoming broody, as she took control of the pram and pushed it over to the clothes section. "Oh James can I choose a few?" She pleaded and smiled when James nodded.

After all of the clothes had been picked they had dresses, romper suits, onesies, coats, shoes, socks, and hats.

"She is going to look so adorable" Lauren said smiling happily, a smile that was also mirrored on James's face.

When they got back to cherub, they put all the purchases in James's apartment and then everyone went to bed exhausted.

please please reviewwwwwww (*_*)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two

A month before the baby was due to be born, James had moved into his apartment. Kerry was ignoring him, but James didn't care anymore, he was happy.  
"Hey James" Lauren said as she walked into his apartment with Bruce, Kyle, rat and Shak.  
"Hey guys, want a drink?" He said, when they shook their heads he continued. "Guys I have been thinking, I'm going to be a dad soon, and it want to look the part, somehow I don't thin a tracksuits going to cut it, do you fancy going shopping with me now?"  
"Yes, let's go!" Bruce said, "maybe Kyle can go all Gok Wan on you, I hear gay guys love clothes" he said as Kyle shook his head in amusement.  
"Let's go then!" James said

"Ooh what about shirts, you could get a black one and wear it with blue jeans" Lauren said picking a few shirts and putting them in James's basket, "you could also get a few ties for if your ever at a formal event." She said picking a few out as James looked at the jeans and picked a few that he liked. "What about a few tshirts?" Kyle said walking over with a selection  
"Put them all in the basket, I'd rather have too many than not enough" James said before they walked to the checkout.  
"So James" rat asked as they were sat having a coffee later that night in James's apartment  
"You looking forward to Scarlett coming here?"  
"Of course" James answered. "It's a little daunting, but I honestly cannot wait, it's only a month now and maybe only a few weeks if she comes early, I can't wait to be a dad, I just feel so happy knowing that I'm going to have a little girl, I'll be there to see her walk. Teach her how to talk, hear her say her first word, to potty train her, to watch her grow up, the first day at school to watch her make friends, who knows, maybe she will be able to be a cherub agent? It's just so great, knowing I'm going to change this little girls life, her first Christmas, first birthday, her first bonfire night, I'm going to be there with her fir all of that, I cannot wait!" He said honestly blushing a bit  
"You are going to be a great dad" Lauren said "can you take her on missions?"  
"Only low risk ones" James said "but Zara seemed to think Scarlett was a good idea for the low risk missions" James said smiling  
He simply couldn't wait until his daughter was in his arms for the first time.

Please review, and feel free to do your own James has a daughter story, there aren't many teenage dad fics out there!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

James was on the way to the hospital, Zara was driving. His daughter had just been born. James couldn't believe it he was going to meet his daughter in just a few moments time.  
He got the carrier off the seat next to him, and sat in reception like he had been instructed, he was buzzing with energy and happiness, this was finally happening, he was going to be a dad. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and pulled it out. It was a text from Lauren wishing him luck, and saying that she couldn't wait to meet her niece for the first time and instructing him to send a photo of her.  
James smiled to himself and then saw a man in a suit walking towards him with a bundle of blankets and he felt his breath hitch. The man passed him the baby and with a muttered "congratulations" he was gone.  
James peered into the blankets and gasped, his daughter had such amazing blue eyes, and they were staring at him. "Hello baby girl. I'm your daddy" he said to her, "your called Scarlett, and I'm going to take you home to meet everybody, especially your auntie Lauren who's been dying to meet you." He cooed as Zara smiled at the baby, and took a photo of James holding her, and sent it to his friends mobile numbers.  
"Come on then James, let's get her home" she said as James placed her in the carrier as though she was made of glass.  
James pulled out his phone feeling it vibrate, with Kyle, Lauren, rat and Bruce all telling him how lovely Scarlett looked, he snapped a few more photos of her and pulled out the paperwork containing the birth certificate and details about Scarlett's weight and blood type and other important details  
Scarlett was sleeping peacefully, and James found himself just staring at her little hands and her tiny nose and mouth. He was a daddy! He was so excited to get Scarlett home, show her to his friends and have everyone in the apartment for a little party.  
He texted his friends saying that he would be back on campus at around lunch time and that he would meet them in the canteen.  
He took more pictures of Scarlett and around half an hour later she started to stir, letting out a little cry, to which James immediately picked her up and cradled her, "it's okay Scarlett, daddy's here, daddy's got you, hey hey, shush now baby no need to cry." He said and repeated that several times before she started to quieten down.  
When she was sleeping again, he buckled her back into her carrier again and watched her sleep for the remainder of the journey.

When they arrived at campus, James got the pram out of the boot of Zara's car and made it up, before carefully taking Scarlett out of the carrier so as not to wake her, he then covered her with a blanket before pushing the pram towards the canteen. He grabbed a piece of dry toast, ignoring the hundreds of curious eyes following him through the canteen as he made his way over to his friends. He didn't fail to notice Kerry's scowl as she watched him make his was past her table with the sleeping baby in the pram.  
"Here is my little niece" Lauren cooed as she peered into the pram, Scarlett was still sleeping and was completely oblivious as to the fact that she was currently the centre of attention.  
"I heard that people think that it is just a doll in here" Kyle said grinning. "And I have to say that if it is it looks pretty lifelike."  
"Haha" James said biting into his toast, "you can hold her if you want you know but please be careful"  
Lauren needed no further encouragement as she lifted Scarlett out of the pram and stared into her tiny face. "She is the prettiest baby I have ever seen!" She cooed.  
Everyone took turns in holding Scarlett before she started crying and at once everyone in the canteen turned to watch James feed Scarlett her bottle, but he didn't notice, his attention solely on his new little baby girl.

please review, and thank you to everyone that has, much appreciated!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

James and his friends finished eating in the canteen and decided to make their way up to james's apartment. He took Scarlett out of her pram and placed her in her cot before covering her over with a blanket. "Sweet dreams my beautiful" he whispered, Kissing her on her forehead. He walked back out into the lounge. "Is she sleeping?" Lauren asked James.  
"yes she sleeping for now but if you're quiet she may sleep for longer." James replied.  
"What is it like having a daughter?" Kyle asked James  
"It's simply amazing to have a daughter she is so beautiful and when I looked into her eyes I instantly knew I loved her." James replied truthfully "I am so glad Zara asked me to adopt such a stunning daughter"  
"so will the mother ever get in contact with her?" Rat asked  
"I'm afraid I cannot give you an answer" James said. "all I was told is that the mother was going to jail"  
"That reminds me" Lauren said "I've got you and Scarlett a little present" she said reaching into her pocket "it's nothing much but I suppose it's the thought that counts." she said handing the small package to James. James opened the parcel and found a little silver bracelet inside.  
"It's adjustable so it will fit up until she is an adult, it's something she can always treasure" Lauren explained.  
"it's beautiful I will ensure that she always keeps it safe" James said  
"I too got her a present" Kyle said Shyly, pulling out a beautifully wrapped present from Laurens Handbag, and handing it to James. James pulled off the wrapping paper to reveal a beautiful set of children's books. "I thought you might able to read them to her if she ever had trouble sleeping." Kyle said by way of an explanation. "Thank you so much they are beautiful" James said flicking through some of the pages running his hands over the beautiful illustrations on the glossy pages. "I will read them to her a lot" he added  
"this is a present from Zara and Ewart" Lauren said pulling a small box out of her handbag and passing it to James. James opened the box to find a set of car keys and a written letter.  
He read the letter:  
James  
you are now a father and this means that your life is about to be a whole lot busier. certain things like getting groceries and nappies, taking her to nursery and doctors appointments will be very time-consuming and a car will be invaluable, so we give you the black Corsa that was seized from last drugs bust in London it's registration is LN092RW. And you will find it parked in front of the main reception, it goes without saying that we expect you to drive responsibly, failure to do that will result in the car will being taken back off you.  
Love Z + E  
Xxxxxxx

James smiles putting the car keys and the letter in his pocket, he would put a car seat in it later and ensure that he had spare nappies and bottles and other items which may come in handy in the boot of the car. He agreed with Zara a car would come in very handy especially now that of a daughter.  
"Does anyone feel up to watching a DVD?" James said questioningly  
everyone nodded and James selected 'the bounty hunter' from his extensive collection and slotted it into the DVD player and then while the trailers were on went to check on Scarlett who was still sleeping.  
As they all settled to watch a DVD James suddenly realised he hadn't felt so happy in years!

Please review and feel free to do your own versions of this story!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A couple of months in, James was so happy, Scarlett was adorable and life for the two had never been better. It was even better when James was told he was going on a low risk mission with his daughter, Kyle and Lauren, the only downside was that Kerry was going too.  
Kyle was helping James load the baby gear into the car and James was making sure that Scarlett would be comfy on their six hour trip.  
They walked into Zara and Ewarts cottage where they found Lauren already there  
"Ready to go?" Ewart asked "we are just waiting on Kerry, now James I know that you two are not getting on but please realise that she is on this mission as a punishment for her rudeness to various members of staff, and will already be angry at having to take part." James nodded at this.  
"What's with her makeup and clothes?" Lauren asked. "She looks like a tart"  
"Zara reckons that she is jealous of the attention James is getting with Scarlett and so is trying to get attention to feel like she is popular" Ewart explained and then they all turned to see Kerry walking down the path towards the cottage. "Any hassle with her, let me know" Ewart said squeezing James's shoulder. James nodded and rocked Scarlett against his chest as he felt her stir.  
"Let's go" Ewart said and they all piled into the people carrier.  
Once they were all buckled in Ewart spoke up "so let's go over our cover stories"  
"I am James Monroe" James said first "my girlfriend died in childbirth and I am not at school due to the commitments of being a full time single father" Kerry snorted at this but everyone ignored her.  
"I'm Kyle Monroe, I am not at college as I do not like it, instead i help James and help my father around the house and will restart college next year when I am more certain in what I want to achieve"  
"What!?" Kerry shrieked "why do neither of those two have to go to school and I do?"  
"Because Kerry, being a father is hard work and emotionally draining, James needs some support, and Kyle is helping James catch up on his class work from cherub anyway"  
Kerry huffed "I'm Kerry Monroe and I just go to school" she said snarkily.  
"I'm Lauren Monroe and I like IT and want to get into a big computer company when I am older, I am going to befriend Tom and get him to offer me a place in his dad's firm after school on a voluntary basis."  
"Brilliant!" Ewart said smiling  
James ensured that Scarlett was sleeping soundly in the car seat and then put his iPod on listening to Kiss, Death is our Destiny and iron maiden.  
It wasn't long before Scarlett woke up and James sighed, he was tired out as Scarlett woke him up a lot each night,  
"I will sort her out James, get some rest!" Lauren said unbuckling Scarlett and cuddling her.  
"Thanks" James said rubbing his eyes  
James slept through the whole journey and found himself being shook awake by Kyle.  
"Wakes wakey" Kyle cooed. "I'll help you put the cot up"  
"Cheers" James replied as he gathered Scarlett up and carried her into the house.  
The house was large. James and Kyle and Scarlett had the biggest room as James needed room for the cot , Lauren and Kerry had the same size room as Ewart and everyone soon started unpacking their stuff, Lauren entertained Scarlett whilst James and Kyle started to make up the cot.  
"Dinner in ten" Ewart yelled from the kitchen  
Five minutes later Scarlett was in her cot sucking her thumb and looking adorable and James had finished unpacking his clothes, and was heading down to the kitchen for dinner.  
"What's for tea?" He asked Ewart who was setting the table  
"Cheese and onion quiche with potato wedges" Ewart said as he dished the food up.  
James tucked in "mmmm, I'm starving" he said  
"So James" Ewart said "you and Kyle can have a day shopping tomorrow, I will give you a couple of hundred quid each, and then after that I want you to start on your a level course work"  
"Sure thing" James said "I am a little stuck on parts, but I'm sure Kyle can help me through it"  
"Yeah sure" Kyle said nodding  
"Why does he get to go shopping?" Kerry snarled  
"Because Kerry, as a single dad he needs to be able to wind down every so often, being a parent is very hard work, even more so when you are doing so on your own!" Ewart said in reply  
Kerry just snarled and stormed off slamming the door behind her as she ran up to her room in anger, Scarlett immediately started crying and as James made to stand to comfort her, Ewart stopped him,  
"No, you need to eat, I'll sort her, I'll talk to Kerry about her attitude later!" He said walking off  
James sighed and continued eating wondering how Kerry was ever going to change her Bolshy attitude.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

so, should I make Kerry and James make up in the story? Review and let me know!

Later that night James decided he was going to go for a walk around the local park with Scarlett and asked if any of the others wanted to come.

"We will all go" Ewart said

"The fresh air will do us good!" Lauren said staring pointedly at Kerry who sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Just remember to wrap up warm!" Ewart reminded everyone "it is quite cold outside now!"

James covered Scarlett in a warm blanket and put a thick hoody on whilst everyone else got their coats and hats on.

Scarlett was very well behaved on the walk and half way round, a man and his son came to introduce themselves. "You must me the new guys, I'm Adam Divire and this is my son Tom, we live just next to you" the man said, shaking all of their hands

"Well I'm Ewart Monroe, and this is my son Kyle, daughters, Kerry and Lauren and my son James, and James's daughter Scarlett." Ewart said in response introducing them all.

"Wow, a daughter at your age!" Mr Divire said in shock,

"Yes, but he is a brilliant father, I think it's done him a world of good" Ewart said "at first I was shocked, we all were naturally, he made plans to get his own place with the mother, but sadly she died in childbirth so we are all sticking together, one thing that it has taught us is that there is nothing more important than family," Ewart said

"That's very true, I can sympathise a lot with you James" Mr Divire said "my wife also died in childbirth, it's very hard to deal with, and it hurts a lot with every passing day. If you ever wish to talk about it or get some advice then come round any time, I take it your not at school?"

"No, I'm studying from home!" James said in response. "Thank you very much for the offer, I will probably take you up on it at some point-"

He was suddenly cut off by Scarlett crying "sorry" he said aloud as he rocked her against his chest, and shushed her.

"She's beautiful" Mr Divire said kindly

"Thanks, she takes after her mother" James replied smiling sadly, to which Mr Divire nodded in understanding.

"What year are you in?" Tom asked Lauren.

"I'm in year 9" Lauren said, "I think I'm going to Corresdon High School"

"You"ll be in the same year and school as me" Tom replied "do you know which form You are in yet?"

"Yes, I think it's 9DI." Lauren replied

"Ace! That's the same form as me, well Lauren, if you ever want to hang out, we live just next door remember!" He said " anyway I have to go dad" he said turning to his father.

"Oh yes of course!" Mr Divire said " if you need anything, just knock" he said smiling.

"That's very kind of you, thank you" Ewart said as they parted ways.

"They seem really nice!" Lauren said thoughtfully.

When they returned, James fed, burped and changed Scarlett before settling her to sleep. Kyle smiled and watched as he read a story to his daughter

"What is so funny?" James demanded upon finishing the story

"Nothing, honest, you are just a great dad!" Kyle said "she really is everything to you isn't she?"

James nodded "of course, she is amazing!" He replied

Kyle nodded "want to watch the dictator on DVD?" He asked and James nodded, they both settled on James's bed to watch the film.


	7. Chapter 7

this chapter is a little bit longer, enjoy and review :)

That night Scarlett refused to settle and James rocked her from side to side in an attempt to soothe her. "what do you want?" he whispered to her "I've fed you, burped you, changed you, are you just trying to keep me up all night here?"

"probably" Kyle replied half asleep.

"will you take her for a bit?" James asked him handing her over to Kyle as he sat up on the bed to take her.

"honestly, your being very naughty for your daddy!" Kyle scolded lightly "we just want some sleep but you keep crying and waking us both up!" Scarlett hiccupped and started to settle a little.

"I love the way she calms down when she sees someone a bit different!" James says "she must feel like she's getting more attention or something!" he added as he lay down on his bed sighing.

"I'm sure she loves you!" Kyle said noticing that his friend seemed upset by this fact. "I'm sure she just wants to see people and may be feeling a bit restless" he said as he rocked the baby against him, like he had seen James do. "you're a fantastic dad and I'm sure Scarlett will love seeing her daddy when she is a bit older, maybe because you look after her all day and night and she only gets to see us for a little bit during the day, then seeing us will seem special, that doesn't mean to say that she doesn't love you!"

"I suppose" James said in response mulling over what Kyle just said.

Kyle stood up and put Scarlett back in her cot and she was asleep in seconds.

"Kyle?" James asked as they lay in the darkness

"Yeah?" Kyle asked from his bed opposite James's. "What is it?"

"Kerry!" James said "I don't understand why she is so hateful towards me and Scarlett, and why she is acting so totally crazy these days!"

"you see James, Kerry felt betrayed that you hadn't talked to her about getting Scarlett before making the decision, although you didn't need to, it's your life, your child, Kerry obviously thought that for some reason you should have come to her to ask her and felt left out!"

"oh, maybe she thought I didn't care about her anymore or enough to ask her" James mused "so why is she acting so different now?" he asked

"well, I have a few theories" Kyle responded "the first being that Kerry felt that she had to exclude herself from our group because we all supported you and your decision, clearly their would have been arguments and rather than face up and change her views, she decided to leave the group" he glanced over at James to make sure he understood. "so now she's on her own, no real friends and she clearly doesn't want to make any friends, so she feels left out, so she changes her clothes and goes for the shock factor. I personally feel that this is because if she thinks that if she does this, then less attention will go to you!"

"but I'm not doing it for the attention" James replied "I'm doing it to help a child have a good life and also because having a family is a huge dream for me" James replied honestly.

"I know it is, trust me I know, but Kerry clearly feels betrayed and left out so she's becoming bitter and angry"

"Do you think she will come round sometime soon?" James asked

"honestly I don't think so, she's stubborn" Kyle said "you could try talking to her but I doubt it would make a difference!"

"thanks mate" James replied honestly.

"you've got something amazing going and I'm so happy and proud for you, so just let Kerry mess up, just keep your own interests at heart, she's in the wrong and you have nothing to feel guilty about, you're not the one making her get into trouble, its all her own doing" Kyle said "now come on, lets get too sleep, we're going shopping in the morning and then cracking on with your class work!"

"sure thing, night night Kyle!" James said rolling over to get some sleep.

"goodnight James" Kyle said doing the same.

James was woken by Scarlett at half five in the morning as she cried her little lungs out. He had just finished untangling his legs from the duvet when Kerry came bursting in

"shit that brat up!" she shrieked "I'm getting up for school in less than two hours you know and I'm fed up of her screaming the house down, of course you two lazy buggers don't have to get up do you because you winged it so you weren't in school!"

James was clearly to preoccupied with calming Scarlett who was only aggravated and scared by the screaming girl so Kyle took control

"for gods sake Kerry" he yelled as James took Scarlett into the relative quiet of the kitchen. "it's a baby, babies cry so get used to it, and I'll be willing to bet everything that I own on the fact that looking after a baby is much harder than just doing your make up and going to school!" he shouted at her as Ewart walked in to the room to observe the slanging match between the two, he decided not to get involved unless it got out of control.

"well you'd better keep that brat quiet!" she snarled. "before you go for your lovely shopping day!" she scoffed "yeah so much hard work!"

"actually, I'm starting to understand why James didn't ask you what your view was on him taking Scarlett in, you clearly have no understanding of what its like to be a parent!" Kyle yelled back "sometimes he's so tired he can't even stand up without feeling dizzy, sometimes he gets so scared because Scarlett seems so distressed and he doesn't know if there is an underlying problem, he's so scared of something happening to her!"

"I wish it did!" Kerry shrieked "maybe then I could get some sleep!"

"hey" Ewart said "sit down on that bed right now Kerry!" he said pointing at James's bed

Kerry paled, she hadn't heard Ewart enter the room and she knew that she was in big trouble.

"okay Kerry, lets just clear up some of these misconceptions you've got!" he said as Lauren entered the room and glared at Kerry. "first of all, being a parent is so hard work, it's tiring, time consuming and quite daunting and I think James is doing an absolutely fantastic job" he said "secondly don't you ever wish something to happen to Scarlett, no matter how much you resent her, you obviously feel Scarlett has taken your place, and she has, because when James needed you the most, you refused to accept his decision and so he was forced to do it on his own. He is so brave and so strong for doing what he has done, I respect him so much, and as a parent I can understand all his worries and his fears and to be perfectly honest I think that he has enough on his plate without you adding to them and making them worse. Babies cry Kerry and sorry if it interrupts your beauty sleep but this mission is your punishment, you aren't here to enjoy it so get back to bed and get to school later, any more of your lip and I will get a punishment for you" he said. Kerry silently walked back to her room and went back to bed.

"she's lost it!" Lauren said and Ewart sighed.

"I think shes just very confused" Ewart said "I think more 'family' time might be needed to try and bring her round"

"that sounds like a good idea, provided Kerry doesn't use it as an excuse to create more tension between herself, James and Scarlett" Kyle responded

"get some rest guys, I'm going to go and check on James" Ewart said leaving the room and walking down to the kitchen where he saw James crying soflty to himself. Kyle had followed Ewart and upon seeing the situation he slowly took the now quiet Scarlett out of James's arms, gave his shoulder a squeeze and a small hug before heading upstairs to put Scarlett in the cot.

Ewart hugged James and then sat him down at the kitchen table

"whats the matter?" he asked

"I just feel like I'm getting everything wrong" James sobbed

"well you are not!" Ewart said firmly "you are a fantastic dad and you are doing a brilliant job of looking after her, don't worry about Kerry, she's just trying to hurt you and I know that your tired and things get to you more, but you cant let them." Ewart said "now then I want you to go upstairs and sleep and have a fantastic shopping time later okay?"

James nodded and wiped his eyes before heading back upstairs to bed

It was ten o clock when Kyle and James headed out to town to go shopping, they managed to get the pram on the bus and Scarlett was being very well behaved.

"I want to get a few books to read to Scarlett and a few dvd's for us to watch" James said on the way there.

"sure thing" Kyle said "I was hoping to get a few t-shirts"

"actually" James said "I think there is a photography studio somewhere, I might pay for a few photos of Scarlett and a few of me and her and a few of you me and her!" James said thinking

"let's go there first then" Kyle said as the bus pulled up to their stop.

James looked through the pictures, he had got a lovely picture of Scarlett smiling at the camera and he had got it in a lovely picture frame to hang on his bedroom wall, he had also got a framed one for Lauren and a framed one of Kyle, James and Scarlett which he handed to Kyle.

"you are the godfather mate!" James said by way of explanation

"thanks you so much" Kyle said looking at the photo and smiling proudly. "your daughter is very photogenic" he added looking at the smile that graced Scarletts face in the photo "and she has a beautiful smile!"

"thanks Kyle" James said as they headed into the busy shopping centre.

So in varying languages:

Review, revisar, bewertung, revoir, revizui, rivedere and hersien!

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